Charlotte novelist to celebrate release of new thriller at Park Road Books July 11

Charlotte novelist Mark de Castrique will celebrate the release of his new thriller, The 13th Target with a book signing at Park Road Books in Charlotte (4139 Park Road, Phone: 704-525-9239) on Wednesday, July 7, 2012 beginning at 7:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

A tense, timely and provocative thriller set during an age of Wall Street corruption, financial meltdowns, and the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating, The 13th Target takes aim at the secretive Federal Reserve. Long the target of conspiracy theorists, the Federal Reserve controls the nation’s money supply. But who controls the Federal Reserve? And what if those in the shadowy corridors of power would target anything – or anyone – who threatened their interests?

About The 13th Target: After his wife dies of cancer, Rusty Mullins quits the Secret Service to repurpose his life. When he joins a Washington, D.C. private protection company, Mullins is assigned to guard Paul Luguire, a Federal Reserve executive and its chief liaison with the U.S. Treasury. Mullins and Luguire form a strong friendship. So when a police detective calls in the middle of the night with word of Luguire’s suicide, Mullins doesn’t buy it. His doubts are only reinforced by Amanda Church, a former Secret Service colleague now in the Federal Reserve’s cyber-security unit. Amanda has uncovered a suspicious financial transaction initiated by Luguire only days before his death.

Even stranger, Amanda finds that the transaction has been erased from Federal Reserve records and the money was wired from an offshore account in Rusty Mullins’ name. Someone is setting Rusty up. And when the president of the receiving bank is murdered, Mullins rockets to the top of the suspect list. Dogged by a tenacious reporter developing leads, Mullins follows a conspiratorial trail of killing and kidnapping that leads from a shadowy mastermind to the possible destruction of America’s financial system. Twelve targets are known. But the clock is ticking. . . and only Rusty Mullins holds the key to what – or who – is the thirteenth target.

A pulse-racing political thriller that sizzles from first page to last, The 13th Target will leave readers wondering where fact ends and fiction begins.

A native of North Carolina, Mark de Castrique is an award-winning film and video producer whose work has been broadcast on PBS, HBO, and network-affiliate stations. He is the author of the Sam Blackman mystery series, the Buryin’ Barry series, and two mysteries for young adults. His books have garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. The 13th Target is de Castrique’s first standalone thriller. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Visit Mark de Castrique online at: www.markdecastrique.com.

The 13th Target (Poisoned Pen Press, Hardcover, ISBN: 978-1-59058-615-0, $24.95, 306 pages/Trade Paper, ISBN: 978-1-59058-617-4, 306 pages, $14.95/Large Print Trade Paper, ISBN: 978-1-59058-616-7, $22.95, 430 pages) will be released on July 3, 2012. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Poisoned Pen Press (www.poisonedpenpress.com) is one of the largest publishers of hardcover mysteries in the world.

Members of the news media wishing to request additional information about author Mark de Castrique or an advance review copy of The 13th Target are kindly asked to contact Maryglenn McCombs by phone – (615) 297-9875, or by email – maryglenn@maryglenn.com.

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